Vista to allow redevelopment committee to expire

An advisory group whose job is to give opinions on matters of redevelopment will cease to exist next week.

The Vista City Council voted unanimously to allow the Redevelopment Project Area Committee to expire Oct. 6, three years after it was created.

It was formed in 2008 because state law requires cities to have such a group when they expand the area slated for economic development with money from redevelopment agencies.

Some on the nine-member committee, which has a vacant seat, were disconcerted by what they see as the city’s narrow focus on the Paseo Santa Fe Corridor project. The project envisions a bustling downtown area with a blend of commercial, office and residential space along the now rundown Santa Fe Avenue. That focus largely leaves other projects, such as sidewalks and other infrastructure improvements, unfunded.

The committee voted 5-1, with two absent and one seat vacant, to keep itself around for another year, but the City Council overruled that decision at a meeting Tuesday.

“This committee that we have here was created for the expansion of redevelopment, and it’s over with,” Councilman Frank Lopez said. “And I believe it should over with, because it’s time. They’ve served their purpose. And I want to thank the people that were on that committee.”

Committee Chairwoman Marsha Holland said the group had many passionate Vista residents who should remain involved in city business, and asked the council that they be considered for other advisory committee appointments.